Pickup bed cap having passenger seat

Abstract

A bed cover for covering the cargo bed of a truck and for providing additional passenger seating, the bed cover including a shell for attachment to the cargo bed, an apparatus for attaching the shell to the cargo bed, the shell having an interior opening passing therethrough, the opening facing upward when the shell is attached to the cargo bed, a passenger seat positioned within the opening, the passenger seat having a substantially horizontal bench portion positioned beneath the opening, and a device for shifting the horizontal bench portion of the passenger seat away from beneath the opening to thereby provide access to the interior of the cargo bed.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A cargo bed cover for attachment to the cargo bed of a pickup truck to provide the pickup truck with additional passenger seating and at least one sheltered storage compartment, the cargo bed of the pickup truck comprising a cargo bed floor and upstanding cargo bed side walls, said cargo bed cover comprising: a cover shell for attachment to the cargo bed;   means for attaching said cover shell to the cargo bed;   said cover shell extending over a substantial portion of the cargo bed when attached to the cargo bed;   at least one opening provided in said cover shell;   a passenger seat comprising a seat bench and a seat back, said seat back being disposed transversely with respect to said seat bench;   said passenger seat being disposed at least partially within said at least one opening in said cover shell;   means for shifting said passenger seat between a seating position, wherein said seat bench is in a substantially horizontal orientation and said seat back is in a substantially vertical orientation, and a storage position, wherein said seat bench is in a substantially vertical orientation and said seat back is in a substantially horizontal orientation;   said means for shifting said passenger seat comprises a pivot mounting between said passenger seat and said cover shell, said pivot mounting providing a pivoting movement of said seat back with respect to said cover shell about an axis of rotation that is substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pickup truck when said cover shell is attached to the cargo bed;   at least two wheel wells extending into the cargo bed, and wherein said pivot mounting is located substantially over the wheel wells when said cover shell is attached to the cargo bed;   said cargo bed cover additionally comprising a first lid, said first lid covering a portion of said at least one opening provided in said cover shell, and wherein said first lid is removable from said at least one opening to thereby expose said portion of said at least one opening;   said first lid being located aft of said passenger seat when said cargo bed cover is mounted on the pickup truck;   said cargo bed cover additionally comprising a hinged connection between said cover shell and said first lid; and   said cargo bed cover additionally comprising a magnetic latch mechanism, said magnetic latch mechanism comprising a magnet located on said cover shell and another magnet located on said first lid.   
     
     
       2. A cargo bed cover according to claim 1, wherein said cargo bed cover additionally comprises a second lid, said second lid covering another portion of said at least one opening in said cover shell, and wherein said second lid is removable from said at least one opening to thereby expose said another portion of said at least one opening. 
     
     
       3. A cargo bed cover according to claim 2, said cargo bed further comprising a hinged connection between said cover shell and said second lid. 
     
     
       4. A cargo bed cover according to claim 3, said cargo bed cover additionally comprising a latching mechanism for retaining said passenger seat in said storage position, said latching mechanism comprising a first latch component mounted on said passenger seat and a second latch component mounted on said second lid. 
     
     
       5. A cargo bed cover according to claim 4, wherein said cargo bed cover additionally comprises a partition extending downward from said cover shell and towards the bed floor to thereby effectively divide the interior of the cargo bed into a plurality of compartments. 
     
     
       6. A cargo bed cover according to claim 5, said cargo bed cover further comprising means for removing said partition from the interior of the cargo bed. 
     
     
       7. A cargo bed cover according to claim 6, said cargo bed cover additionally comprising locking means for locking said passenger seat into said seating position. 
     
     
       8. A cargo bed cover according to claim 7, wherein said locking means comprises a pair of sliding bolt mechanisms, one each of said pair of sliding bolt mechanisms being positioned adjacent one each of the wheel wells of the pickup truck. 
     
     
       9. A cargo bed cover according to claim 8, wherein said pivot mounting between said passenger seat and said cover shell is disposed on said seat back of said passenger seat, said pivot mounting being located substantially above the midpoint of said seat back when said seat back is in said substantially vertical orientation, and wherein said means for attaching said cover shell to the cargo bed comprises a pair of channels provided on said cover shell, one each of said pair of channels being located on one each of an opposing longitudinal side of said cover shell, and a pair of rails for slidingly engaging said pair of channels, one each of said pair of rails being attached to one each of the upstanding cargo bed sidewalls. 
     
     
       10. A cargo bed cover for attachment to the cargo bed of a pickup truck to provide the pickup truck with additional passenger seating, the cargo bed of the pickup truck having a cargo bed floor, rear wheel wells extending into the cargo bed, and upstanding cargo bed side walls, said cargo bed cover comprising: a cover shell for attachment to the side walls of the cargo bed;   attachment means for attaching said cover shell to the side walls of the cargo bed;   said attachment means comprising a pair of rails, one each of said pair of rails being mounted on one each of the side walls of the cargo bed, and a pair of mounting channels attached to said cover shell, one each of said mounting channels being configured to slidingly mate with one each of said rails;   an interior opening passing through said cover shell;   a passenger seat, disposed beneath said opening in said cover shell when said cargo bed cover is mounted on the pickup truck, pivotally connected to the cover shell;   said passenger seat comprising a bench portion and a back portion;   said bench portion and said back portion being disposed at substantially right angles to one another;   means for selectively shifting said passenger seat between: a first position wherein said bench portion is substantially horizontally oriented and said back portion is substantially vertically oriented; and   a second position wherein said bench portion is substantially vertically oriented and said back portion is substantially horizontally oriented;     said means for selectively shifting comprising a pivoting connection between said cover shell and said back portion;   said pivoting connection between said cover shell and said back portion being substantially disposed over the rear wheel wells of the pickup truck;   a first lid for covering a portion of said opening;   said first lid being positioned rearward of said passenger seat when said cargo bed cover is mounted on the pickup truck;   a hinge interconnecting said first lid and said cover shell;   a magnetic catch for retaining said first lid in an open position, said magnetic catch comprising one magnetic member attached to said first lid and another magnetic member attached to said cover shell;   a second lid covering another portion of said opening;   said second lid being positioned forward of said passenger seat when said cover shell is mounted on the pickup truck;   an additional hinge interconnecting said second lid and said cover shell;   a latch for retaining said passenger seat in said second position, said latch comprising a rotatable latch member mounted on said second lid and a retainer member mounted on said passenger seat;   a handle mounted on said seat back for shifting said passenger seat between said first and second positions;   a locking mechanism for retaining said passenger seat in said first position; and   a partition connected to and extending downward from said shell and towards the cargo bed floor to thereby effectively divide an interior of the cargo bed into a plurality of compartments.   
     
     
       11. A cargo bed cover according to claim 10, said cargo bed cover additionally comprising means for substantially removing said partition from the interior of the cargo bed, and wherein said locking mechanism comprises a pair of slide bolt locking devices, each of said slide bolt locking devices comprising a sliding bolt and a locking aperture for receiving said sliding bolt, one each of said sliding bolts being disposed on one each of the rear wheel wells and one each of said locking apertures being disposed on said seat back adjacent one each of the rear wheel wells when said passenger seat is in said first position.